The Alco FA

The Alco FA was intended to be the builder's answer to Electro-Motive's ever popular FT and subsequent models. The design was the road freight model of Alco's passenger service PA. The FA also replaced Alco's original DL series, which used the builder's initial prime mover, the model 539T, which proved trouble-prone and unreliable (the company, however, continued to use
the DL markings for factor designations). Unfortunately, Alco's new 244 engine also had problems which seriously hurt impacted it from ever making a serious run at EMD's F series. Despite the prime mover's flaws the FA model
and its variants would sell a little more than 1,000 units and could be found spread out across the country hauling freight on notable roads such as the
Pennsylvania, Baltimore & Ohio, Great Northern, Frisco, Wabash, Union Pacific, and others.

The Alco FA sporting a beefier carbody than EMD's F series was introduced by the company
in 1946 and initially offered 1,500 horsepower with a B-B wheel
arrangement (four axles per truck). Alco also built a B unit, just as EMD offered in its catalog, which was also capable of producing 1,500
horsepower. Unfortunately, the initial FA-1 model and its new 244 model diesel engine
proved troublesome and unable to take the pounding required in daily road service. The 244 was used in several early Alco designs and
while problematic in main line applications, such as powering the PA and FA design, it actually proved quite reliable in some of the smaller models such as early road switchers like the RS2 and RS3. With the onset of World War II in late 1941 the American Locomotive
Company's diesel development was delayed. This would prove costly
to Alco as the Electro-Motive Corporation (later General Motors' Electro-Motive Division) had already unveiled its FT and EA models
between 1937 and 1939, years before the war had started.

For technical information about the FA series please click here. The FT was particularly noteworthy as it paraded around the country with much fanfare; a sensational marketing success it convinced railroad after railroad that main line, heavy-haul diesel locomotives could truly match steam despite offering less horsepower per unit. While Electro-Motive, like all other builders, was restricted by the U.S. government from continuing their diesel program during the war they already had a model in production before the conflict began and one in which was reliable and sought after by railroads. With the war restriction Alco was not able to release its FA model until January of 1946. The Gulf Mobile & Ohio being the first railroad to receive its order receiving #700-754 FAs and #B1-B33 FBs. Around the same time, three demonstrators; two FA-1s and one FB-1 toured on the Delaware & Hudson between January and mid-February that year. Unfortunately, a union strike at Alco's Schenectady, New York plant further delayed production on the GM&O's order and the railroad did not begin receiving its units until May of that year.

Despite the FA-1 having reliability issues it provided incredible pulling power, an Alco trademark for many of its models
and was certainly one reason why some railroads continued buying its products. The FA's carbody was also
very well designed, on par with Electro-Motive's now-classic cab designs. It was
developed by General Electric's own Ray Patten as the company during
this time was working right
alongside Alco in producing diesel locomotives. Patten, who also
designed the beautiful sister PA model, shortened the FA's length to
just 51 feet, 6 inches (the PA was 65 feet, 8 inches) as well as giving
it a shorter, somewhat blunter front nose. Still, the overall slanted
front windshields and streamlined look was a hallmark of both models, capped off by the notable grills over the centered headlight. The FA used
a B-B truck arrangement, which could produce a continuous 46,000 pounds
of tractive effort and reach a top speed of around 65 mph.

When production ended on the FA-1, Alco was able to sell 672 A and B units to nearly twenty domestic railroads (including those built at its Montreal Locomotive Works for Canadian roads). In October of 1950 the builder released its upgraded FA-2, which featured a slight increase in horsepower and longer carbody at 54 feet. This pushed the radiator shutters slightly forward allowing the unit to receive a steam generator for passenger service (similar to what EMD would do with its FP7 design). The FA-2 also received an upgraded generator from GE (the model GT581, which replaced the GT564). Both the FA-1 and FA-2 featured turbocharging and dynamic brake capability (if ordered, it was not standard on the model). In the end, the FA-2 sold slightly better than its early cousin with 597 units produced.

Alco FA Series Production Roster (U.S./Canada Only)

FA-1/FB-1

Owner

Road Number(s)

Quantity

Date Built

Canadian National

9400-9407

8

1950

Canadian Pacific

4000-4027 (As)

28

1949-1950

Canadian Pacific

4400-4423 (Bs)

24

1949-1950

Erie Railroad

725A-735A, 725D-735D (As)

22

1947-1949

Erie Railroad

725B-735B, 725C-735C (Bs)

22

1948-1949

Great Northern

276A, 276B, 310A, 310C, 440A, 440A, 442A, 442D (As)

8

1948-
1950

Great Northern

310B, 440B, 440C, 442B, 442C (Bs)

5

1948-1950

Green Bay & Western

501-502, 503 (1st/2nd), 507

5

1947-1949

Gulf, Mobile & Ohio

700-754 (As)

55

1946-1947

Gulf, Mobile & Ohio

B1-B33 (Bs)

33

1946-1950

Lehigh & New England

701-710 (As)

10

1948-1949

Lehigh & New England

751-753 (Bs)

3

1948-1949

Lehigh Valley

530-548 (As, Evens)

10

1948

Lehigh Valley

531-549 (Bs, Odds)

10

1948

Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (Katy)

326A-334A, 326C-334C

18

1948-1949

Missouri Pacific

301-330 (As)

30

1948-1950

Missouri Pacific

301B-310B, 321B-325B (Bs)

15

1948-1950

New York Central

1000-1043 (As)

44

1947-1949

New York Central

2300-2322 (Bs)

23

1947-1949

New Haven

0400-0429 (As)

30

1947

New Haven

0450-0464 (Bs)

15

1947

Pennsylvania

9600-9607 (As)

8

1948-1950

Pennsylvania

9600B-9607B (Bs)

8

1948-1950

Reading

300A-305A (As)

6

1948

Reading

300B-305B (Bs)

6

1948

Rock Island

145-160 (As)

16

1948

Rock Island

145B-152B (Bs)

8

1948

St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco)

5200-5231 (As)

32

1948-1949

St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco)

5300-5315 (Bs)

16

1948-1949

Seaboard Air Line

4200-4202 (As)

3

1948

Seaboard Air Line

4300-4302 (Bs)

3

1948

Soo Line

205A-211A, 205B-211B

14

1948-1949

Spokane, Portland & Seattle

850A-1 - 860A-1 (Evens), 850A-2 - 860A-2 (Evens), 866A-1, 866A-2 (As)

14

1948-1950

Spokane, Portland & Seattle

856B-1 - 860B-1 (Evens), 856B-2 - 860B-2 (Evens), 866B-1, 866B-2 (Bs)

8

1949-1950

Tennessee Central

801-805 (As)

5

1949

Tennessee Central

801B (Bs)

1

1949

Union Pacific

1500A-1543A, 1626-1643 (As)

62

1947-1948

Union Pacific

1524B-1541B, 1618B-1642B (Evens), 1618C-1642C (Evens) (Bs)

44

1947-
1948

Wabash Railroad

1200-1204, 1200A-1204A (As)

10

1949

Wabash Railroad

1200B-1204B (Bs)

5

1949

Wisconsin Central (Soo Line)

2220A-2223A, 2220B-2223B

8

1949

FA-2/FB-2

Owner

Road Number(s)

Quantity

Date Built

Alco (Demo)

1600A, 1600D, 1602A, 1602D (As)

4

1950

Alco (Demo)

1600B, 1600C, 1602B, 1602C (Bs)

4

1950

Ann Arbor

50-56, 50A-56A

14

1950

Baltimore & Ohio

801-837 (Odds), 801A-837A (Odds) (As)

36

1950-1953

Baltimore & Ohio

801x-817x (Odds), 817ax, 819x-837x (Odds), 837ax (Bs)

21

1950-
1953

Canadian National

9408-9456 (Evens) (As)

26

1951-1953

Canadian National

9409-9437 (Odds) (Bs)

15

1951-1952

Canadian Pacific

4042-4051, 4084-4093 (As)

20

1951-1953

Canadian Pacific

4465-4470 (Bs)

6

1953

Erie Railroad

736A-739A, 736D-739D (As)

8

1950-1951

Erie Railroad

736B-739B, 736C-739C (Bs)

8

1950-1951

Great Northern

277A, 277B

2

1950

Louisville & Nashville

300-321, 350-369, 383-384 (As)

44

1952-1956

Louisville & Nashville

200-211, 300-331 (Bs)

14

1952-1956

Lehigh Valley

580-594 (Evens, As)

8

1950-1951

Lehigh Valley

581-587 (Odds, Bs)

4

1950-1951

Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (Katy)

331A

1

1950

Missouri Pacific

331-360, 374-386 (As)

43

1951-1954

Missouri Pacific

331B-335B, 345B-356B, 370B-386B (Bs)

34

1951-1954

New Haven

465-469 (Bs)

5

1951

New York Central

1044-1123 (As)

80

1951-1952

New York Central

3323-3372 (Bs)

50

1951-1952

Pennsylvania

9608A-9631A (As)

24

1951

Pennsylvania

9608B-9630B (Bs)

12

1951

Spokane, Portland & Seattle

868A-1, 868A-2 (As)

2

1950

Spokane, Portland & Seattle

868B-1, 868B-2 (Bs)

2

1950

Western Maryland

301-304

4

1951

FPA-2/FPB-2

Owner

Road Number(s)

Quantity

Date Built

Alco (Demo)

1602A, 1602D (To Great Northern, 277A-277B)

2

1950

Baltimore & Ohio

4008-4017

10

1950-1951

Canadian National

6706-6711 (As)

6

1955

Canadian National

6806-6811 (Bs)

6

1955

Canadian Pacific

4082-4083, 4094-4098 (As)

7

1953

Canadian Pacific

4463-4464 (Bs)

2

1953

Great Northern

277A-277B (Ex-Alco Demonstrators)

2

1950

Louisville & Nashville

380-384

5

1952

Missouri Pacific

361-373, 387-392

19

1952-1954

Finally, Alco offered a passenger version of
its FA, the FPA-2 and FPA-4 which sold modestly (it should be noted that
the final model, the FPA-4, used Alco's much improved 251 model engine
although by the time it was released the builder
had already lost most confidence from railroads in its ability to produce reliable locomotives). All told, Alco would sell over a thousand FA units (EMD's F
series in comparison sold more than 4,800 units). In any event, it is
interesting to wonder how well the model would have sold had the initial
troubles with the 244 (and early 241) model engine had not been present with further research and development taking place before they entered production. To read more about other Alco models, such as the PA, please visit the Diesel Locomotives section of the site, which can be reached from the top of this page.

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